I have read repeatedly (not just here) that Roudybush is the best, hands down. Why is this? I have read the ingredient labels of Roudybush and two others (one of which was Zupreem Naturals and none of which had artificial colors or flavors or any type of preservatives etc) and I can not figure out why one is better than the other.

I don't like the peanut content of Roudybush, personally, nor the fact that their feeding instructions say that one can include some fresh fruits or vegetables in small quantities if one feels so inclined (strongly implying that fresh foods are at best unnecessary). But I'm about to place a large online order for one or another type of pellet, and I would love any advice that anyone has to give about this.

I am absolutely a beginner with parrots, and absolutely open to correction. If Roudybush is the best, that is what I want to buy. But I would like input as to why this is the best.

I don't know anything about Roudybush. Lots of people feed it. Lots of people don't.

I personally feed TOPS.

My advice would be to order whatever seems best to you. If you don't like a food with a high peanut content, don't order it, especially considering that you have a son with peanut allergies. I don't know if the left over crumbs from that food can get airbourne or not, but I wouldn't take that chance if I had a family member allergic to a main ingredient in a food. Even if that is no longer an issue, still pick the food whose ingredients you prefer. Your instincts have served you well so far. Continue to follow them.

For some reason the budgies will eat roudybush with out question. I also use Pretty Bird and Kaytee pellet and they eat those too! I guess it's a crap shoot, really. I have several stores to shop at so I try different foods often. Given a choice, your bird might choose another brand! Mine did.

I like Roudybush best because it's a 100% complete diet, which is why they tell you fruits and veg are just a supplement. Its fine to offer a mix of things, just don't over do it because they may overload on certain vitamins/minerals.

When I first started working with birds, the breeder I worked with only offered Roudybush. In the pellet world, at least what is available down here, Roudybush and Harrison's are at the top of the list for high quality and highly recommended. The difference, really, is that Harrison's is organic, Roudybush is all natural. Harrison's is also twice the price, and I really don't see any difference in quality between the two, personally. I watched an interview at UCF with the gentleman who created the Roudybush diet and it was fascinating. Roudybush isn't just a diet, it has probiotics incorporated into the food A lot of people can tell you, on most seed/pellet diets they have to offer probiotics regularly because it upsets their digestion but I've never had a problem with that while feeding Roudybush. They also do a lot of work on trying different diets. They have food mixes for birds with specific health problems - rice formula for birds with allergies, formula for birds with liver problems, formula for birds with PDD, etc. I've used this food for... 8 years now and I would never go back

I feed my little birds a mix of 60% Roudybush, 40% high quality all-natural seed (Goldenfeast) and they get fresh fruit/veg everyday Goober gets 80% Roudybush 20% dried fruit/nut mix with fresh veggies every day (minimal fruit because she has the dried fruit already) because Macaws need a higher fat diet than other species Everyone does fantastic on it The vet always gushes over the linnies and Goober because their feathers look so nice and they're always right on target for weight. Obesity is a problem right now with parrots, apparently

SevenVeils,
I don't know anything specifically about Roudybush, but from Jenny's post it sounds like they make a diet without the peanuts? Perhaps if you feel strongly about feeding Roudybush you could look into that?

My birds have been on Roudybush pellets since they were weaned. The bird shop where I buy my supplies, toys, food, etc., give Roudybush pellets to all their birds and my avian vet says they are the best, along with Harrisons. I really don't know too much else about them, just that my birds love them and do great on them. (They also get mixed veggies, fruit, birdy bread, Beak Appetit, etc. -- not all on the same day, but one of these each day.) The pellets are always available to them.

I think that part of the basis of my question comes from my experience with dog kibbles.

For many years, vets pretty much unanimously recommended Science Diet or IAMS. Even to this day, a lot of vets do so. But in reality, vets aren't well educated about the specific area of nutrition, and the reason for their belief that it is best is that those companies send sales reps to convince the vets of the superiority of their brand.

And in reality, Science Diet and IAMS are crap foods that I wouldn't feed unless I were desperate.

So I am wondering if there is a similar situation with pelleted parrot foods or not.

I want to feed my bird what is best for her. A lot of experienced parrot people seem to feel that Roudybush is the best. If so, then I want to go with Roudybush. I don't want to dismiss it based on my misreading of, or misunderstanding of the ingredient labels.

Does that make sense?

And I'm not saying that I suspect that Roudybush is crap food. I definitely do not think that. But if it is more a case of Roudybush being very good, but a few others also being very good, then I will decide accordingly. Whereas if Roudybush truly has a real edge over the others for a tangible reason that I am not seeing (like the probiotics, that is a good example and I need to read over these labels again) then that is a reason, to me, to go with that brand.

To go back to dog food, I think that a better analogy is that in my opinion, Innova Evo is hands down the best kibble that you can feed your dog. But there are quite a few other excellent kibbles, and Evo is prohibitively expensive for a lot of people (including me). Then there are the grocery store brands, which will keep your dog alive but are not as good for them. I guess I would liken brands like Purina and IAMS and such, to the seed diets or the colored pellets for parrots.

So, my question is, I suppose: Is Roudybush analogous to Evo? Truly head and shoulders above the rest? Or is it one of a select few that are all excellent?

I don't know dog food well enough to say Our avian vet does a lot of research and works on the advisory council for Kaytee so she's really familiar with nutrition. Of course, she recommends Kaytee brand over others, she says Roudybush and Harrison's are the next best out there, if that helps at all

Okay, I have read and reread both the ingredients on Roudybush Maintenance Mini, and Zupreem Avian Natural (conure/senegal size) and I can't find reference on either one to any probiotics. At least not under any name that I know.

Maybe they have a different name from the ones that I know? Or maybe they aren't listed on the label. How can I find out if the Zupreem contains them?

If probiotics are in the mix it will say so. I have done my time reading ingredients on many brands. I have found that Kaytee is the one that says probiotics on the label.
I have Nutriphase Gold (Petsmart brand) for my conures right now and I notice they are eating the pellets in the mix. If you have the stores close enough to you spend some time reading labels! Most, if not all brands have a website.

I feed Gizmo a diet of about 60-70% Roudybush and then Nutriphase seed. Then everyday she gets one fruit and two vegetables offered, and I change it up so she gets a variety there too. For example, Monday it was apple, then cucumber and carrots. Today it was banana, and then some green and yellow peppers and one of her favorites...radishes. I love Roudybush because it's a full balanced diet, and I agree that Gizmo's feathers are always in great condition and have a very vibrant color.

If you don't want to use the pellets with the peanut meal, Roudybush does have a rice diet that only contains rice products (generally used with parrots who have food allergies). I wouldn't say Roudybush is THE best, but it's a very very good quality pellet for parrots. I do think Harrisons is slightly better due to it's ingredients being organic (my opinion on things is if you read the ingredients and you know what the items are, the more natural stuff the better) but it's quite expensive (10lbs of Roudybush costs me around 30 bucks, while 5lbs of harrisons can cost the same amount). To me they are almost equal, with the organic ingredients giving Harrisons an "edge". Both provide what your parrot needs, and neither have artificial colors which can cause problems with some parrots. Either would be a very good diet for a pet parrot. But I guess if you can afford Harrisons, I would say that would be your parallel to Evo.

"You own those biting, screeching, chewing machines?" -falls on ground laughing- "Actually they own me...and I love it."

I have read through some of these posts, and I've been seeing that Harrisons and Roudybush are the best pellets. Jenny said that Roudybush is all natural and Harrisons is organic. What are the difference between natural and organic in the pellets?